Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters

United Kingdom

The Commission has adopted a draft regulation on jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters to replace and update the 1968 Brussels Convention. The proposal aims to introduce uniform standards for jurisdiction in civil and commercial matters between the Member States and to simplify and speed up the recognition and enforcement of judgments. Improvements include clarification of the special jurisdictions in contract law which are exceptions to the general rule based on the domicile of the defendant; new provisions covering jurisdiction over all consumer contracts and a new section on individual contracts of employment; a new general rule indicating when “lis pendens” takes place; a simplified and faster enforcement procedure enabling a judgment in one Member State to be declared enforceable immediately when presented to a competent authority in the State where enforcement is sought; provisions on cases where judgement is given in default of appearance in order to reduce abuse of procedural rules by the defendant; and a common concept of domicile of legal persons.

To further clarify the legal implications and requirements of electronic commerce, in particular in respect of jurisdiction and applicable law, the Commission will organise a hearing on this subject in Autumn 1999 with the participating of regulators, consumers, industry and other interested parties.

Specifically, the proposals could cause considerable problems on the internet market. The change would mean that consumers who feel they have been cheated in a cross-border transaction could choose where to pursue their case: either in the country where the goods or services came from or through the law courts of their home country. However, since anybody anywhere can access a web site the concern is that customers will be able to take a matter to court in their home country even if the business that out up the website never intended to deal with that country. The revision would also undermine the draft electronic commerce directive which enshrines the principle of country of origin, precisely to avoid fragmentation of the single market. (IP/99/510)